Kokoschka – retrospective for a rebel

Oskar Kokoschka, the man of many faces: painter, graphic artist, poet and dramatist – his creative work was always provocative and challenged the world to a duel. The Leopold Museum is showing a comprehensive retrospective of this belligerent painter’s work.

As one of the foremost pioneers of Expressionism, Kokoschka (1886-1980) produced paintings that offered a stark contrast to the prevailing Art Nouveau style of the early 20th century. This enfant terrible campaigned throughout his lifetime for the recognition of figurative art, becoming a role model for subsequent generations of artists.

The Leopold Museum honors the eternal rebel with a retrospective that follows his creative work on a journey across Europe. His artistic path took him from Vienna and Dresden to Prague and London, settling finally in Villeneuve, Switzerland. The exhibition presents over 250 works selected from right across Kokoschka’s different creative phases, including major loans from international museums and collections. His political allegories and provocative posters exemplify Kokoschka’s activities as “homo politicus,” who remained a “wild one” right to the end.